My dog scratches ears, grinds teeth. Could it be an ear infection?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like Snow may have an ear infection, which can be pretty uncomfortable for her. She should be seen by a vet to assess the severity of the condition and begin the appropriate treatment. Treatment may include oral antibiotics or topical antibiotics. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any questions you have!

It may be that she has an ear infection (due to bacteria or yeast), or she may have ear mites. Ideally, take her to the vet, as he or she will be able to diagnose the cause and give you medication to effectively treat it. If you are unable to go to the vet, and she is otherwise doing ok, you could try something like this https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-ear-solution, but I don't know if its available to you in South Africa. Best of luck, I hope she's feeling better soon.

Poor Lola! Her ear does look quite irritated in the photo. Scratching at the ear is usually caused by an ear infection or underlying allergy problem, which may also be why she is scratching at her mouth and face as well. I would recommend taking her to the vet for an exam when you are able to, to find out for sure what's wrong and get her started on appropriate treatment. In the meantime, you can place an e-collar (plastic cone) on her to prevent her from continuing to scratch at her ear and make it more irritated, or put a bootie or sock on her rear paw so that she can't scratch as effectively.

Ouch, poor Remington! You are correct - most ear infections in dogs stem from underlying allergies. Allergy issues in dogs mostly cause skin problems and ears are skin, after all. The allergies could be associated with environmental issues (atopy), food allergies or flea allergies. I can certainly see the discharge and swelling in Remington's ear. Her excessive scratching obviously indicates that she's quite uncomfortable. Allergy issues cause dogs to itch, which damages the skin barrier and then leads to ear infections from an overgrowth of yeast and/or bacteria in the ear canal. There are no effective over the counter treatments for ear infections. At this point, I recommend taking Remington to her vet for an exam and ear cytology. Your vet will be able to look at her ear discharge under a microscope to determine the type of infection present, and will then prescribe an appropriate medication based on those results. Until you get to the vet, consider putting an e-collar (cone) on Remington to prevent her from causing further damage to hear ears. I hope this helps and that she's feeling better soon!

It sounds like Princess has an ear infection. Ear infections in dogs can be caused by ear mites, yeast, or bacteria. You need to take her into the vet in the morning to have this diagnosed and treated. Best of luck.

Those brown clumps could also be ear mites, which itch intensely and can cause a dog to injure themselves by scratching and shaking their head. It could also be some kind of ear infection or other problem. I recommend getting her checked at your vet as soon as possible to have her ear checked to determine why she's scratching so hard and get her treated so she (and you) can get some relief soon.

It sounds like Sage could have an ear infection or may be having an allergic reaction to something. If her face appears swollen you should see an emergency veterinarian right away. If she continues to rub or scratch her ears tomorrow you should make an appointment with your regular veterinarian to have her ears examined.